Ethan Vernon kicked off his season in Mallorca on Wednesday, his runner-up finish in the Trofeo Alcudia suggesting that more victories await him in 2023 after his eye-catching debut campaign last year.
The 22-year-old Brit, who comes from a predominantly track racing background, won three races on the road with Soudal-QuickStep: a stage at the Volta a Catalunya and two – a prologue and a sprint – at the Tour of Slovakia. He then rounded out the year by becoming a world champion on the track as part of Britain’s new-look team pursuit squad.
With a broad skill set and a year of experience under his belt, Vernon looks well-placed to move through the gears in 2023, with sprints, semi-classics, and, of course, a touch of track on the agenda.
Ahead of it all, he sat down with Cyclingnews to discuss his rise, what it was like to race alongside Mark Cavendish, and what lies ahead.
Cyclingnews: As you’re about to start your second season, how do you look back on the first?
EV: It was a good season – three wins and a world title on the track is a nice first year pro. I don’t know what I was expecting. I was a bit naive to what it was going to be like, but looking back now and with the standard of racing, I’m really happy.
I remember someone asked me this time last year what I expected, and I said to learn in the first half of the year and then win a race in the second. I ticked that off in April, which calmed the nerves, and it was a WorldTour win too. Even that just one win would have been a nice debut, but to get two more and then the track just topped it off and put me in a really good place for this year.
CN: You can sprint, you can time trial, and obviously you have the track, so how would you define yourself as a rider?
EV: It’s a bit uncertain at the moment. Hopefully, by the end of this year, I’ll know a bit more. I don’t want to close any options off. I’m not super heavy so I can get over some of the climbs so that’s another avenue I guess – sprints from reduced bunches.
Hopefully, by this time next year, I’ll have won a couple more races and it’s a bit clearer. I want to keep working on my sprinting but I do think climbing – obviously not pure climbing but getting over some hills to sprint after – is a nice avenue to go down. And then with the track, I’m really motivated for the Paris Olympics and that’s only going to help with time trialling.
CN: What about the Classics? They’d seem to suit your profile but obviously QuickStep isn’t short…
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